In my room alone I'm sitting,
Thinking, while the teardrops flow,
Of companions flown forever
From the shores of long ago.
Where are they, the friends of childhood,
Who, in youth's unclouded glee,
Roam'd the verdant wood and meadow,
Plucking flow'rs along the lea?
They are gone, but I shall meet them
Re-unite in bliss for aye,
In the dazzling blaze of Heaven,
When the mists are roll'd away.
Oh, I long to see the mother,
Who is reigning with the blest,
And a lovely, fair-haired sister,
Who in Christ has gone to rest;
Oh, I hope to meet a father,
When the purer world I gain,
Clasp in love a long-lost 'brother,
In a sphere unknown to pain.
They are gone, but I shall meet them
In a blaze of endless day,
On the crystal shores of Heaven,
When the mists are roll'd away.
I am sighing, I am sighing,
As the moments swiftly roll,
For a meek-ey'd, gentle maiden
Precious idol of my soul.
Oh, I lov'd her, truly lov'd her,
And of paths I'm thinking now,
Where the moonbeams as we wander'd
Fell in beauty on her brow.
Tho' unguarded words were spoken—
I, with fears, recall the day,
She'll forgive, I know, and love me,
When the mists are roll'd away.
Soon I'll sleep beneath the daisies,
In the churchyard's silent mold,
And my heart will cease its throbbing,
Lie inanimate and cold.
But the spirit is immortal—
To its Maker must ascend,
And to die is the beginning
Of a life that knows no end.
I'll exchange the night of sorrow
For the pure and perfect day,
And with lov'd ones reign forever
When the mists are roll'd away.
